


What You Can't See (is always me right in front of you)

by adorkable99



Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Family Feels, Fixing Relationships, Good Monsters, Hurt/Comfort, Pack as a family, Team Up, different timelines, i play with age and timelines to satisfy my whims, loosely follows plotlines, protagonists team up with their stories antagonists
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 18:55:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adorkable99/pseuds/adorkable99
Summary: Family doesn't end in blood for any of the Winchesters, but it still starts there.When Sam, Dean, and Cas investigate Beacon Hills, they find their estranged half-sister right in the middle of everything they've deemed suspicious. No one seems willing to let bygones be bygones.Meanwhile, Derek is finally on the cusp of a happily ever after with his pack turned family. He's not willing to let anyone come between that.Hollyn stands in the middle, a Winchester by blood, a Hale by choice, and something else entirely by destiny.The darkness approaching sees their clashing chaos , and it loves it...





	1. The Boys are Back in Town

**Author's Note:**

> I can't stress enough that I have changed age, timelines, and plot points to suit my own needs. It makes sense when I say it makes sense. It is also going to take sometime for all these people to come together, I am not bashing anyone, but the Teen Wolf characters come off more favorably in the beginning.
> 
> Shout-out to queeenofice for her superb editing skills and ability to talk me out of truly terrible plot ideas.

_This better be important_ she thought grumpily as she opened her eyes. It was supposed to be her morning off, and only chance this week to sleep in, but the two teenage boys whisper arguing outside her door put a kibosh on those plans. She listened to their bickering a moment before quietly getting up.

“Derek said not to wake her! Do you wanna deal with a cranky alpha first thing in the morning?” Scott asked.  
She heard Isaac respond back “I think he’d understand. After all he’s not answering his phone. What are we supposed to do with them”

_Them?_ She quickened her stride to the door. This can’t be good. She opened the door, cutting Scott off mid-sentence as the two bickering teens turned guilty and hopeful faces towards her.  
She let them stutter for a moment before interrupting, “Slow down now, you’re not making any sense. Scott explain what the problem is. Three sentences or less.”  
Scott opened his mouth to protest, so she added a little of what she liked to call the “Derek Grump Glare” to her face. Scott swallowed quickly before blurting out, “Three FBI guys are here for Derek and they won’t leave and Derek isn’t answering his cell and we don’t know what to do.”

She blinked for a moment, her brain trying to process what Scott had just told her. Her first thought was to reprimand him for his blatant run on sentence, to which he rolled his eyes, when the sentence actually registered. 

“THE FBI ARE HERE?” she whispered yelled at the boys. When they simply nodded at her, eyes rounded with fear, she knew she had to do some damage control. These kids had faced down hunters, kanimas, alphas, and everything else without batting an eye, but the thought of their Alpha in danger was a true threat. Without him they were nothing. A threat from the FBI was particularly troubling, because though they had an extraordinary ability to fight and win by magical means, they could do very little to circumvent or fight against the law. She took a deep breath, and signing the death sentence on her peaceful morning, issued directions for the boys. 

“Isaac I need you to go wake the others. Tell them to get ready for school but stay upstairs until I come up. Ask Stiles to text his dad a warning that the FBI is poking around. Scott text Peter, he went with Derek today. Tell them to get here ASAP, and then head downstairs and keep the agents occupied. I’ll be down as soon as I’m dressed.”  
Her boys gave her a terse nod, hugged her briefly, and bounded off to do as they were told. If only they did that when we weren’t in crisis mode she thought wistfully, before turning back into her room. She dressed quickly, paying little attention to what she threw on her body. Her mind was focused on the FBI and what they could want with Derek. She needed to get rid of them.  
Her mind was a flurry of thoughts urging her to protect Derek, protect their pack, and keep their secrets well hidden. What could they want anyway? Derek hadn’t done anything. Or at least he hadn’t done anything that would show up in a legal system or investigation. Hollyn and the Sheriff had made sure of that.

Hadn’t they? 

 

She pulled her hair into a bun and moved to go downstairs.  
As she descended the stairs she heard Scott chatting from the kitchen. He was hiding his nerves well, but for all of his new found responsibilities as Derek’s second in command, he was still just a boy. She could only hear one person answering Scott, but the boys had told her there were three altogether. She worried about their silence. That was never good. As she entered the kitchen her eyes immediately sought out Scott, assuring herself that he was okay. He met her eyes, smiling briefly before moving to stand by her side. Werewolves she laughed to herself, always so protective, even when it isn’t their job.  
As Scott settled beside her she moved her vision to the other three men in the room. As her eyes locked on the two men she had not heard speak she let out a gasp.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she managed to choke out.  
“We could be asking you the same” the shorter of the two answered.  
“Oh hell no. Get out. Get out of my house right now.” she was frantic to get these men out of her house and out of Beacon Hills. This was worse than she had imagined upstairs. She must have been louder than she had thought because suddenly Isaac was standing on the side opposite Scott, and both were tensed, ready for action. She had to diffuse this situation before things spiraled out of control. 

“It’s okay guys. Everything is fine. These three aren’t FBI agents. Well those two definitely aren’t. Pretty positive Trench coat over there isn’t either…”  
“Then who are they?” Derek’s voice came from the doorway. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She turned towards Derek, taking him in, seeing Peter lurking in the background, before she moved to him.  
“They’re my brothers” she quietly told him “plus one.”  
Derek took a moment to size her brothers up before directing his gaze to the two teens still standing on guard. When he spoke it was with the authority of the Alpha, his obey-me-or-I-smash-you voice, as Stiles liked to say, “Go get the others, Peter has your food, you can eat it on the way to school. You’re going to be late. Leave.” When they didn’t move immediately his glare deepened. They fled. 

Insatiable curiosity and an urge to protect would see them through many things, but an angry alpha was not one of them. Isaac paused to hug her first, breathing in her scent, before following his brother. However, that seemed to break the spell of silence her brothers were under, as Dean broke in harshly,  
“What the hell is going on here? I want answers, Hollyn Megan. NOW.”  
“Excuse me? You came to my house, under false pretenses I might add, and you’re the one who wants answers? Bite me Dean.”  
“Hollyn-“ Sam tried to cut in, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Peter, who was being suspiciously quiet, rose to answer it. Judging by Derek’s face, Hollyn was not going to like who it was. Her fears were confirmed when the sheriff walked in. She had the urge to laugh hysterically. A werewolf, the Winchesters, and a Sheriff all sit down at a table she thought sardonically.

Sheriff Stilinski smiled at them, before eyeing the Winchesters. “Stiles called. Said something about the FBI making trouble?”  
“Thanks Sheriff, but it turns out it was just a misunderstanding. These men are related to me, and that guy is presumably their friend. Trust me, there is no way any of them are feds.”  
The Sheriff stared at each of them before seeming to reach some sort of conclusion. He sat back in his chair at the kitchen table before saying, “related, eh? You kids okay to sort this out?”  
“Yeah, we’re fine. The boys here were just leaving. Can you go get the kids moving? They’re going to be late again”  
The Sheriff laughed at that, muttering about teenagers as he went to round them all up, and force the nosy pack out the door.

As soon as he left, Sam started to speak again, “We can’t just leave Hollyn, we’re here on business. There’s a job.” The way Dean was eyeing the Hales left no doubt in her mind who he thought the “job” was. Fine she thought bring it on brother. See if you even touch a hair on their heads with me around.  
“There is no business here. The job is taken care of. Leave” with that she promptly ignored her brothers, turning instead to Derek “I’m going to go say good-bye to the kids. You can see our ‘guests’ out.” As she moved to exit the kitchen however, Dean reached out and grabbed her. He opened his mouth to speak, but never got the chance to, as Derek had reacted instantly, pulling him off Hollyn and shoving him into a wall while Peter moved to block the others. 

“You do. Not. Touch. Her.” Derek practically growled. 

Great Hollyn though, way to be subtle love. They’re definitely not going to expect anything now. Totally going to walk away. She sighed yet again, before addressing the room,  
“Derek, let the idiot go. All of you sit down.” Turning towards the doorway, she addressed the teens she knew were eavesdropping, “Loiterers in the hallway go to school before I make sure you never see the light of day again. Now.”  
She heard sheepish apologies from the hallway as she watched the men in the kitchen slowly do as she told them. Honestly, it wasn’t even 8 am and she already was ready for the day to be done. She turned to her brothers yet again, only to find Dean staring at her intensely. He had not spoken since he had grabbed her arm. She saw his gaze flick down to the hand she had resting on the table before returning to her face, and she understood. Damn.

“You’re engaged?” Dean blurted out, his face displaying all his disgust at the very thought.  
“Yes” she answered tersely “Derek and I are getting married in a month. I can imagine your displeasure, so save your lecture.”  
“ So what you’re just playing house here with this tool? Completely ignoring the…family business unless it threatens your little dream?”  
Hollyn clenched her jaw. God, but her brothers infuriated her. She looked at Derek and Peter, “Would you guys give us a minute?” When neither of them moved she added “Please? I need to have a word with my brothers here.” Derek alpha stared her down for a moment, before sighing, kissing her briefly, letting out a soft “I love you, Holls, yell if you need me” and then grabbed Peter by the back of the shirt and hauled him into the living room.

Hollyn met her brother’s gaze evenly. “Yes. I live here. I work at the high school. I’m engaged. I’ve adopted two teenagers with the man I love. I defend my home when need be. Don’t act so high and mighty brother. You abandoned me when I was 16. It was never my family business.”  
Oh did that make Dean angry. He stood up, towering over his sister, his gaze and voice hard “Your mother died for you. Died so that you could-“  
“Live. She died so that I could live. Do you think spending my life chasing down monsters is living? I’d probably be dead by now. What would that make of her sacrifice, huh? You think the only way to make the world better is to hunt down demons? Don’t be such a fool. And don’t you dare use my mother against me. You hated her. You don’t care one bit about her sacrifice.”  
Dean stared at his sister, breathing hard. “You disgust me, you know that? What would Dad say? C’mon Sammy, Cas, we’re leaving.” With that Dean Winchester stormed out of the room, they heard the front door slam before Sam approached her, he hugged her very quickly, muttered an awkward “congrats, sis” and then he too fled out the door. The silent man in the trench coat, Cas her brother had called him, was the last man in the room. He approached her, cocked his head to the side and stared at her quizzically, before preceding the two Winchesters out of the house.  
Hollyn slumped against the counter her energy gone. Suddenly strong arms wrapped around her. She leaned into Derek’s arms, turning around and snuggling into his chest. She already wanted to forget about this day.  
“They’re not leaving that easily, Der. They’ll be back”  
“I know” he soothed “but we’ll worry about that later. How about some breakfast” he asked as he kissed her temple.  
His tenderness was her undoing. Her brother’s surprise visit had ripped open wounds that she had thought long healed. She burst into tears, crying into Derek’s shirt. They remained like that for several minutes before Peter’s voice rang out “You want me to kill them for you? I know a nice spot for burials.”Hollyn laughed while Derek grumbled under his breath.


	2. Impala Interlude

Dean had a white knuckled grip on the steering wheel as he sped away from the Hale House, his sister’s house, as it turns out. His sister’s huge house. When they came to Beacon Hills, Dean expected to see some crazy shit. All those deaths and weird reports had raised a lot of red flags concerning his hunter instincts. He never, not in a million years, thought he’d find his sister here though. And definitely not shacked up with the very person Dean suspected of committing all the crazy shit in this town. He could see Sam eyeing him from the passenger seat, getting ready to open his mouth. Dean cut him off before he could start.

“Right. We need to visit the places the bodies were found. Do a little more digging. It doesn’t look like the local cops are going to help us out any, so we’ll have to be quiet.”  
“Dean…” Sam began, in that stupid we-have-to-talk-about-this tone. Dean pushed on as if he hadn’t heard his brother speak.  
“And we should check out that old hale house. There’s something off about those two goons, I’m telling you. And pie. We need pie.”  
Sam sighed, but let his brother be for now. The next interruption came from Castiel.  
“That woman…she is your sister?”  
When Dean just intensified his glare and his grip on the steering wheel, seriously he was going to break the damn thing soon, Sam answered.  
“Yeah she’s our little sister. Hollyn. She should be around 24 now I think.”  
“She is your biological sister?”  
“Yeah, well half. She has a different mother. Why?”  
“She is touched.”  
Dean snorted at that, “She certainly is. Touched in the head. Don’t know what the hell the kid is thinking.” Dean continued to mutter bad things about their sister, mostly to himself, so Sam continued on.  
“What are you talking about Cas?”  
“Your sister. She is touched by heaven.”  
That got Dean to shut up…and nearly crash the car. “What? Are you telling me our- are you telling me Hollyn is another freaking vessel? I am not doing this apocalypse shit again Cas, I can tell you that.”  
“No. Not a vessel. None of my brothers have specifically chosen your sister. She is simply blessed with heavenly power. Not an angel. Though, perhaps angelic. She exists outside of the control of angels. Fallen or otherwise. There are rumors that even demons would have no power when faced with one touched by heaven. It has been a very long time since one such human walked this earth. Perhaps not since the dawn of your civilization. It is fascinating to meet one.. You should be honored.”  
“Hah, Honored right. So what does all this heaven mumbo jumbo mean? Hollyn has some freak powers?”  
Sam glared at Dean but once again refrained from saying anything. Cas answered.  
“I’m not entirely sure.”  
“Great. Well. Let’s focus on the hunt right now, we’ve got shit to do. Then we can talk about Hollyn’s…whatever it is.”   
With that Dean turned the music up, effectively ending the conversation.

After a quick stop at a local diner for lunch, the trio decided to tackle the old Hale house first.   
Unfortunately that turned out to be easier said than done. As they drove up to the where their information told them the burnt remains of the house stood, they saw a large gate blocking their drive, and sitting in front of that gate was a police cruiser. A young man, not the sheriff they had seen earlier, was leaning casually against the front of the cruiser.   
“Damn it” Dean swore as he pulled up, “what do we do now?”  
Before they could reach a conclusion the man approached the Impala. Sam reluctantly rolled down his window, and gave a friendly “Good Morning Officer.”  
“You know, I thought the sheriff was going crazy when he called to say someone was probably going to show up here sometime today, but here you three are. This is private property I’m afraid gentlemen, so I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”  
“Sorry Officer” Sam explained “we just learned our baby sister is getting married. Thought we’d try and find more out about the groom. We didn’t mean any harm. Just wanted to protect our little sister, you know?”  
The deputy eyed them for a moment before continuing, “That’s interesting gentlemen, because I received two calls this morning telling me that you three were federal officers. Not concerned big brothers, but as your sister and a few well-placed phone calls have already confirmed that’s a lie, let’s say you really are here for your sister. If that’s the case, you missed your opportunity to be concerned. Didn’t see you here when she nearly died and spent all those weeks in the hospital. In regards to this property, nothing here but a field nowadays, the Hales just keep the fence locked up tight to try and keep the kids from partying out here. So I suggest you go be concerned elsewhere.” With that the deputy walked back to the car, though he didn’t get in it. Instead he resumed his resting pose against the front of the cruiser and tipped his hat at the Impala.

Dean drove away swearing a blue streak, but Sam was focusing more on what the deputy had told them. When had Hollyn almost died? Unlike Dean, Sam had made a habit of calling Hollyn once a month just to talk even after their dad had effectively sent her away. While he was at Stanford she was the only member of his family that he actually spoke to. Then Dean popped back up in his life and Jess died, and suddenly he was back on the road again. He kind of just forgot his sister. He had ignored a few of her calls, these past few years, telling himself he’d call her back when things settled down. They never did. He never called. Eventually, she stopped calling too. He screwed up and he felt miserable for it.   
“Hey Dean?” he spoke up, and when he received a grunt in response continued “maybe we should just leave.”  
“Leave?” Dean’s response was full of incredulous anger.  
“Yeah. I mean it doesn’t seem like we’re going to figure anything else out, and Hollyn did say the job was handled.”  
Dean snorted “yeah like I believe her. She’s shacking up with our prime suspect Sammy!”  
“Dean”   
“No. We’re staying. End of Story.”


	3. Chapter 3

Hollyn was pacing.   
Yesterday her brothers turned up on her doorstep. They yelled at her and left to investigate the old Hale House. God she was glad that after a lot of convincing she finally got Derek to agree to demolish the place. Her best friend, Jordan Parrish, had been at the site all day in case they showed up. He called her and gave her all the details as soon as they had left. She knew they would go there eventually and she was going to kill both of those idiots for trying to use her name. Concerned brothers indeed.

That being said, here they were and her brothers and their creepy trench coat friend still. Had. Not. Left. 

Hollyn paced a little faster.

Until she walked right into Derek’s chest. Apparently he had stepped in front of her. He wrapped his arms around her and she automatically relaxed into him. They didn’t say anything for a while, just enjoyed being with one another as Hollyn attempted to let her worries go. She took a deep breath, before stepping back slightly and kissing him lightly on the lips. It was only after they had been kissing uninterrupted for nearly five minutes that Hollyn registered how quiet it was in the house. She pulled back and arched an eyebrow at him, “where is everyone?”  
He laughed slightly “Hmmm, a Friday night in Beacon Hills? Where could they be?”  
“Lacrosse, shit. Are we late?” Hollyn couldn’t believe she had forgotten. She’d been going to the games as long as she’d been teaching at Beacon Hills High, but ever since the formation of the pack, and the official adoption of Isaac and Boyd, both her and Derek had made a point of being at every game cheering their players on with the rest of the pack. Even Peter showed up most of the time, though they often caught him booing instead of cheering.  
“No, we still have time. But we don’t have to go. The pack would understand if you just wanted to stay home right now.”  
“No way. I’m not letting slime like my brothers stop me from cheering on our boys. Let’s go, Hale.”  
Derek laughed and followed her to the car. “After you, future Hale.”  
For the first time since her brothers darkened her doorstep, Hollyn laughed.

 

 

However, she didn’t feel like laughing when they got to the game, as she spotted her brothers and their mysterious friend, Cas, in the crowd before the game had even started. She felt Derek tense up beside her, before he offered to go deal with them. His offer caused Allison and Lydia to follow Derek’s gaze. Looking at her pack, her actual family, in the eye one by one, she spoke, No, leave them be. We came here to watch the game and that’s what we are going to do. Pretend they don’t exist.” Silently she added, _it should be easy, they’ve done it to me for years now._ Derek squeezed her hand in solidarity, as Allison moved closer, and Lydia looped her arm through Hollyn’s before screaming at the top of her lungs as the team took the field. 

For the rest of the game, Hollyn successfully blocked out her brother’s presence in her life. It was a tough game, with so many of their players being taken out for injuries or fouls that Stiles found himself in the game, even though they were merely tied with their opponents. Hollyn, Lydia, Allison, the Sheriff, and Mama McCall screamed their hearts out when he took the field. Derek merely clapped and Hollyn had to smack Peter over the head to get him to cheer instead of boo, but they were all truly excited for the boy. They may have only legally adopted Isaac and Boyd, but everyone in Beacon Hills knew that Scott, Stiles, Lydia, and Allison were the unofficial kids of the Hale family.   
So when Stiles found himself running down the field with the ball, the entire Hale pack surged to their feet screaming. They practically exploded when he scored. Stiles. Goofy uncoordinated Stiles had just scored the winning goal for Beacon Hills High. Hollyn pretended not to notice the tears in the Sheriff's eyes as they all stormed the field.   
It wasn’t until the shouts of a victory celebration at the local diner started circulating that Hollyn paid attention to anything other than her boys and their big win. However, when she glanced up she immediately spotted her brothers and their friend standing back away from the jubilant fans and exhausted teammates, watching it all. She frowned at them, but made no move to approach. _Ignore them_ , she reminded herself. _Just ignore them._

They all piled into their respective vehicles and headed off to the diner.   
Derek immediately claimed the large booth in the back, knowing that the pack would be mingling with the other teens more than sitting in one specific place, but wanting them to have the option all the same.

While he did that, Hollyn approached the Sheriff, “on a scale of one to bursting how proud are you right now?”  
The Sheriff laughed, “past bursting I think. Probably about like you right now, eh?”  
It was Hollyn’s turn to laugh, “hey, you raised him. I just feed him on occasion.”  
“We’ll pretend that’s true.” He replied a twinkle in his eye, “but thank you. Really Holls. For everything you do for my son and his friends. For me too. Don’t think I don’t know where all those lunches come from.”  
She blushed slightly both at being caught and at the Sheriffs praise. “We’re family, Stilinski, of course I’m going to look out for you all.”  
It would be Hollyn’s luck that as she says that her eyes meet Dean;s, not far from where they’re standing. If she had to guess, based off the look he was currently giving her, he had heard every word she had just said. _Good_ she thought _I don’t care._

It wasn’t until later, when most of the party-goers had headed home, that her brother’s approached her. She had gone out to plug her phone into the car charger, and predictably when she turned around they were there. Her brothers towered over her as their creepy friend hovered in the background.  
“Can I help you?” she asked coolly.  
“Yeah, You can tell us what the hell you’re playing at” was Dean’s gruff reply.   
“That’s rich. Real rich coming from you Dean. I’m celebrating a hard win, nothing more. What are YOU playing at?”  
Dean snorted, and Sam’s face showed just how desperately he wanted his brother to shut up, but Dean continued anyway, “Like I believe that shit, Hollyn. And don’t you think that calling someone else family when you knew we could hear you was a bit petty?”  
Sam winced. Hollyn couldn’t breathe she was so angry. How dare he? How dare he. She snapped. Her hand resounded off Dean’s face with an almighty crack, and her voice reverberated with fury as she spoke, ‘I didn’t say it for you to hear. I wish you had never heard it. I wish you weren’t even here to have heard it. But since you did, yeah, the Sheriff is family. He’s going to walk me down the aisle next month, and that decision has nothing to do with you. It wasn’t even made with you in mind. So get off your fucking high horse Dean, and grow up. Admit you were wrong and just leave, okay?” She was crying now, sobbing so hard the words barely made sense as she added, “there is nothing here for you.”  
They were staring at her now, all three of them. Dean’s face was twisted in anger and confusion, Sam’s was just sad, and their friend just stared intently between the three.  
“You are not happy to see your brothers?” Trench coat asked.  
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any brothers, Cas..”  
“Castiel” he supplied.   
At hearing his full name Hollyn’s head popped up and she stared at Cas even as she took a step back. 

Before she could say anything, or anyone could question her response, the door to the diner opened and Derek stepped out. Hollyn wiped her face as he approached, even knowing that he probably knew she was crying before he even left the diner. It’s quite likely that’s why he left in the first place.  
“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately as he took up a position next to Hollyn, ready to intervene at a moment’s notice.   
“Nothing” Hollyn answered “or at least nothing that we need to talk about right now. Any chance the kids are ready to go?”  
“They’ll be ready if I say they are.” Derek responded  
She just rolled her eyes at him, purposefully ignoring their audience, “Yeah, yeah, you’re all talk. They’ve got you wrapped around their little fingers and you know it.”  
“It’s only because you wrapped me around your little finger first, Holls.”  
She laughed, “well at least you’re a smart man.” She pecked him on the cheek, “go announce that the Hale express is leaving in 5 and they need to get on or find their own way.”  
“Yes ma’am.” Derek grins, sparing a glare at the others before leaving. She knew he was still listening, still wary of her brothers. He would not risk her, even to those who sadly share her blood. Her heart warmed at both his protectiveness and his willingness to let her handle it.   
She turned to the three men and addressed them, “I’ll be here at noon tomorrow if you want to talk. If you’re not going to show, leave town and don’t come back.”  
“We’ll be there” Sam answered, ignoring the look Dean gave him. Before anyone else could speak the door to the diner opened, and the entire pack piled out.


	4. The Family Business is Really Just Stubbornness

Hollyn arrived at the diner early, ordering coffee (and to keep it coming) as she slid into a booth by the door. In an effort to keep this meeting private, she arranged for Derek to take the pack on a run, so she was reasonably sure they wouldn’t be interrupted by any concerned parties.  
Her brothers arrived right at noon, and there was a good ten minutes of awkward silence before their friend spoke.  
“Are you aware of what you are” he questioned with a curious tilt of the head.  
“Cas!” Dean bit out, but Hollyn just laughed.  
“I am many things Castiel, to which do you refer?”  
“You are Touched. I am not aware of anything else though, what are you?”  
“Oh yes, that. I’ve known for years. As for what else-”  
“Wait, hold up here, you’ve known for years?” Dean interrupted, a dark look on his face. Hollyn rolled her eyes at him, but before she could answer they were interrupted.

“Hey Mrs. H! Thanks again for that paper extension.” It was one of her students, Danny. She greeted him with enthusiasm, reminding him that the class had more than earned the extension for their stellar test grades. She chatted amicably with his parents for a few minutes before they moved on to eat. She turned to find both her brothers staring intensely.  
“Oh, what now” she exclaimed.  
“I thought you weren’t getting married until next month” Sam answered, a neutral tone to his voice.  
She shrugged, “The kids are excited, they’ve been calling me Mrs. Hale since we announced the engagement. Although we’ve basically been “the Hales” since we moved back.” Hollyn was aware of Dean’s dislike of the current topic, so she addressed Castiel, “So can you sense anything supernatural or only those of a divine nature?”  
“I can usually sense the presence of angels and demons, but that is all. You are the first of your kind I have encountered. Why do you ask?”  
“Never mind that,” Dean interrupted again, “how did you find out you were, whatever.”  
“My keen powers of observation. Why are you still here?” She bit back.  
“For fucks sake can you not just answer a damn question, Hollyn?”

On the inside, Hollyn was dying of laughter, Dean was still so easy to rile up. “Sure thing big bro, as soon as you start doing the same. I know honesty isn’t you’re thing, but-“  
This time it was Sam who interrupted, “Hollyn, we are trying here, but you’re not making it easy.”  
“I’m not making it easy?!?! Fuck you Sam. You came into my home, all threatening and male posturing, refused to believe what I told you, and criticized my life choices. As for trying, what exactly are you trying at? It certainly isn’t listening to me, trusting me, or being a decent human being.” Sam look taken aback, but Hollyn was on a roll with no intention of stopping, “you want to know how I know what I am? Someone tried to kill me, but guess what! My fatal wounds weren’t so fatal after all, thank you strange Jesus juice. She was supernatural, and a huge bitch, and she’s dead now. You’ll notice it’s been peaceful around here for a while now, because I fucking took. Care. Of. It. So, I repeat, why are you here?”  
“Dean thinks-”  
“Oh, oh I see. Dean thinks something so it must be true. Let me guess, he’s suppressing his emotions and just wants to kill things. Doesn’t want to deal with his own trauma so he’s gonna make everyone else suffer? Grow up.”  
Dean looked like he was in imminent danger of bursting, Sam was still slack-jawed and speechless, and Castiel was scrutinizing her intently. Before anyone could say something, they were once again interrupted by the pointed clearing of a throat. Hollyn looked up to see Chris Argent waiting with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

“Should have known you were one of these Winchesters.”  
“Shut up. What do you want?”  
“I need to find the lesser Hale.”  
“Lesser or least?” Hollyn teased.  
“If I ever voluntarily seek out Peter, I hope you shoot me. Why isn’t Derek answering his phone?”  
“He doesn’t have it anymore. They’re running on the big trail if you want to hunt them down. Otherwise, I guarantee all of those kids will answer their phones.”  
“If Derek hasn’t chucked them in the ravine again.”  
“The kids or the phones?”  
“This is my life now” Argent concludes mournfully. Hollyn laughed before pulling out her own phone, after a moment of thought, she dialed Stiles.  
“Please please please tell me we can come home now” he answered with a gasp.  
Hollyn laughed, “hand the phone to your fearless leader and I’ll see what I can do.”  
“You are all that is good in this world. Eyebrows, phones for you.”  
“Are you sure I can’t leave this one here” Derek immediately asked, ignoring Stiles indignant squawk in the background.  
“I love your funny side” Hollyn deadpanned, “Argent is looking for you. He’s wearing his urgent face.”  
“Tell him to meet us at the house, we’ll be there by the time he gets there.” The groans Hollyn heard before Derek hung up the phone let her know they really weren’t close to the house. She addressed Argent, “he’ll meet you at home.” He simply nodded thanks before heading towards the exit.

“Argent?” Dean exclaimed, “as in the hunting family Argent?”  
“That’s the one.” Hollyn replied.  
“He lives here and you want to tell me there’s no job?”  
“I already told you there was a job. He came for that.”  
“So why is he still here?” Dean asked with suspicion.  
“His daughter. She’s currently dating my son. Some people actually care about their family. Anyway, to summarize, nothing to hunt and lots of hunters, no reason for you to be here. Safe travels.”  
“If there really is nothing to hunt, why do you want us to leave so badly?”  
“Gee, why wouldn’t I want the people who abandoned me to stick around? Especially when they clearly are very supportive of my life choices.” The sarcasm was apparent. Sam looked like he wanted to defend himself, so she cut him off in advance, “and you, Sammy, you abandoned me twice, so I really don’t want to hear it. I even told you about Derek, so it sure is great to see you cared enough to remember. I’d like to say it was a pleasure, but it really wasn’t, good-bye brothers mine. Castiel, it’s always interesting to meet an angel of the Lord, thank you for the honor.”

Sam was laying on the bed in their dingy hotel room thinking about everything his sister had said. He couldn’t deny that Hollyn was right- he had abandoned her. He hadn’t even thought to call her when Dean died. Hadn’t thought of her at all. The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt- did Hollyn even know their dad was dead. About the apocalypse? About anything. Probably not. Who would have told her? Thinking on it, Sam could remember Hollyn talking about a guy- he couldn’t remember a name, but it had to be Derek. She described him as kind, and careful, and maybe a bit broken. He had been happy for her. What happened to that?  
Sam suddenly couldn’t take it anymore. He shot up and off the bed. Dean and Cas were out with the car, but he didn’t care, he’d walk. He just needed to see his sister. He needed…he didn’t know what he needed.

The door was answered by one of the teenagers always hanging around Hollyn, “what do you want,” he snapped rudely.  
“Please, I need to talk to Hollyn,” Sam spoke as respectfully as he could- he had no rights here.  
“And if she doesn’t want to talk to you?”  
“Then I’ll leave, I swear.”  
The teen didn’t look like he was willing to let Sam in, but then his sister’s voice floated from somewhere inside, “Let him in Boyd, it’s fine.”  
“It’s really not,” the boy-Boyd- muttered but he led Sam inside anyway. Sam was unceremoniously led through the house, which he begrudgingly admitted to himself was truly stunning. Boyd left him when Hollyn came into sight, sitting in a study Sam immediately knew belonged to her. It overflowed with books and pictures, giving off a cozy, well-lived in feel. Hollyn gestured to the sofa and they both sat down. After a moment, Hollyn spoke, “This is a surprise I must say.”  
Sam meant to say he was sorry, or that he remembered Derek, or that she was right. A hundred different things flitted through his mind, but what came out instead was “Dad’s dead.” He immediately groaned, burying his head in his hands. Was he incapable of doing this right? A snort had him looking up to find his sister regarding him with amusement.

“I do know a few hunters Sam. Some of them even talk to me.”  
“But-if you-why-“ Sam struggled not to make his question sound like an accusation.  
“I did try calling” she reminded him with a sigh, “and I only ever heard after the fact, so its not like I could have offered any help.”  
“Yeah” Sam paused, “I think…I think I really messed this up Holls.”  
“You did” she confirmed, before continuing more hesitantly, “but maybe we could fix it, at least a little.”  
“How?” he asked a bit desperately.  
“Tell me about your life?”  
“It’s not very pretty,” Sam warned, but Hollyn waved him off, “What Winchester story is” she replied. So they talked. It wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. There were misunderstandings, awkward pauses, and some tension, but eventually the story of everything that happened since Dean broke into Sam’s apartment came out. The silence at the end wasn’t quite peaceful, but it had lost the previous days hostilities.  
They were interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by a voice yelling “dinner!” Hollyn looked at Sam hopefully before hesitantly asking him to join them.  
“Uhm…” he was about to say no, thinking of Dean’s disapproval and how out of place he’d feel among her family, but he changed his mind. “Sure” he said instead, hoping he wasn’t making a mistake.


End file.
